This spooky middle-grade audiobook has all the cozy comforts of autumn, and Golden Voice Alyssa Bresnahan sets the tone perfectly. When Eve runs away from the orphanage, she's unexpectedly rescued and then adopted by the Pumpkin King. Bresnahan's Pumpkin King sounds delightfully gruff and grumbly, but he's caring and protective, and he just wants to be a good father and give Eve a welcoming home. He takes her to Hallowell Valley, where she discovers that she's the only living human among a bustling populace of scarecrows, witches, vampires, werewolves, skeletons, and other mysterious entities. Bresnahan communicates Eve's confusion, curiosity, and determination, especially once she makes friends in Hallowell and sets out to solve some mysteries and confront her own deep-seated fears. An old-fashioned listening pleasure.
(Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: 2024
Duration: 9 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781668643976
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
In the small town of Soledad, Texas, in 1952, 12-year-old Pineda encounters a young alien when she crash-lands on his family's pecan farm. Unfortunately, the U.S. military has just taken over the town for a war games exercise. Giordan Diaz gives a winning performance as Pineda, communicating his humor and kindness and switching easily between English and Spanish, which Pineda speaks with his Cuban mom. Chapters alternate between Pineda's point of view and Luisa's--that's what Pineda calls the alien, since he can't pronounce her name in her language. P.J. Morgan gives Luisa an appropriately nervous, hesitant voice as she slowly learns English. As Pineda and his friends try to reunite Luisa with her parents, the chorus of voices for other characters who chime in during the story's climax reinforces the message about the power of community. Warm, funny, and timely.
(Science fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: 2025
Duration: 5 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9781666679236
Publisher: Dreamscape
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Laura Knight Keating captures every nuance--both human and doll--in this contemporary yet old-fashioned fantasy. In front of a dollhouse shop, lonely, 11-year-old Tiph captures and returns a runaway dog to its elderly Hungarian owner, Nene (Aunt) Szilvia. Spunky Tiph and Nene are Keating's standout characters, with Nene's stunning voice and accent making every appearance a delight. As their friendship develops, they restore a dollhouse, magically awakening the dolls, who chat with various accents. Listeners will be shocked when the usually conscientious Tiph steals a valuable antique doll. Listeners of all ages will be enchanted by Keating's spot-on rendering of the intergenerational relationship and story of correcting a regrettable mistake. The charm of the narration should make this delightful tale an audio classic.
(Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: 2025
Duration: 11 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9798890592316
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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